38 Nebraskaland • November 2022
s we approach another Veterans Day, here are three
fl ags belonging to the fi rst soldiers to formally represent
Nebraska in the U.S. Army.
Nebraska Territory had only about 9,000 men of
military age when the Civil War began, but it sent more than
3,000 of them into the Union armies. The First Nebraska
Infantry Regiment fought in two major battles in 1862,
playing a crucial role at the Battle of Fort Donelson and
fi ghting bravely at Shiloh.
Later, mounted as cavalry, the two Nebraska regiments
guarded overland trails in Nebraska's Platte Valley. Statehood
followed two years after the end of the war.
N
Visit History Nebraska's website at history.nebraska.gov.
Nebraska's Civil War Flags
By David L. Bristow, History Nebraska
A
Pvt. James Hutton, age 19, Co. E, First Nebraska, circa 1861.
HISTORY NEBRASKA, RG2057-40
In 1863, the First Nebraska was mounted as a cavalry
regiment. It served in the Platte Valley from August 1864
until it was mustered out in July 1866. HISTORY NEBRASKA, 8611-4
This ad appeared in the Nebraska Advertiser (Brownville),
on May 23, 1861. The Brownville company traveled by
steamboat to Omaha City, where it was mustered into the
First Nebraska Regiment.
